Ch.212Side Story 12
by fnovelpia
Looking back, I had never gone beyond a gate before.
Normally, when a gate appeared, monsters would emerge with it.
And once all the monsters were eliminated, the gate would disappear as well.
Unprocessed gates would become dungeons.
They say the interior is a world independent from Earth.
But studies show that even the largest ones are no bigger than a single city.
“…”
“…”
In that sense, what we were seeing now was completely alien.
First, the sheer vastness was overwhelming, incomparable to any dungeon.
And what we could see wasn’t everything. The flow of magical energy revealed more.
We all knew the magical energy flow inside dungeons had clear limitations.
Everyone gathered here was a top-tier ability user, hardened by combat.
They could all read magical energy flows, making the difference even more apparent.
“Rina.”
“You don’t need to ask, I already checked. To put it simply, this is definitely not a dungeon. What do you think, oppa? I may be combat-oriented, but you’re Support class, specializing in detection and measurement. Technically, your assessment would be more accurate than mine.”
“…I checked multiple times because I wasn’t sure, but the result is the same.”
As Rina Lee said, this wasn’t a dungeon.
It was a world beyond the gate that no ability user had ever seen before.
Perhaps this gate was simply a randomly created “door.”
Everything visible beyond it might have nothing to do with monsters, gates, or dungeons.
With no prior knowledge, it was difficult even to make predictions.
“Arbiter. What are you planning to do?”
Soohyun Kim asked, fingering her sword hilt, trying to gauge Seojin Baek’s intentions.
We had enough personnel. If he decided to proceed further, we certainly could.
But no one else knew about the situation here.
We could wait for more definite support and replacements for those who would enter.
We could handle all those matters before entering.
“Let’s just go in, Arbiter! We have the whole team here! And other people too!”
Of course, there were opinions like Hyunwoo Lee’s, preferring to dive right in.
“Junior. Please be quiet. This situation is very different from usual.”
“No, I agree with the chick. There’s no reason to back out now. My brother is here, I’m here. And our little chicks… well, they can at least pull their own weight. Right?”
At Rina Lee’s words, Hyunwoo nodded enthusiastically, saying “Of course! Absolutely!”
Dasom Yoo sighed in response, while Hana Kang thoughtfully rubbed her chin.
“What will you do, Arbiter?”
Soohyun Kim asked once more for her team leader’s decision.
Her eyes sparkled with firm resolve to follow whatever he decided.
“…Jiyoon.”
After contemplating for a while, Seojin Baek called out to Jiyoon Han beside him.
“You’ve reported this to the Association, right?”
“Yes, of course. I even sent video footage.”
“Please contact the Association again. Tell them to alert all countries to maintain maximum alert status just in case. And to send any available forces here to stand by.”
“…Are you planning to enter?”
“Yes. Maybe not right this moment, but we will.”
He had considered the options, but the answer was clear. We needed to assess the situation.
If the other side was monster territory, we should attack and inflict damage.
If it was a completely different world, we needed to determine if they were allies or enemies.
Our world was already busy enough fighting monsters.
If something else was added to the mix, it would go from busy to unbearable.
Actually, perhaps it was already unbearable enough.
“Then, who will enter to investigate?”
“Well, obviously…”
Seojin Baek trailed off, looking at his team members.
He wanted to go with his team.
They had trained together extensively and were now his most trusted companions.
However, there were a few concerns.
While he considered the existence of another world highly probable,
They didn’t. They had no reason to believe such things.
They might think the other side of the gate was a monster stronghold.
And if what lay beyond wasn’t another world but the heart of hell,
If it was teeming with monsters far worse than anything they’d seen here,
In the worst case, they might suffer serious casualties and have to retreat urgently.
This wasn’t a decision he should make unilaterally as leader.
He needed to hear their opinions—what they wanted to do.
“Your concern is unnecessary, Arbiter!!”
Huh?
“I know what you were just thinking! You were hesitating to boldly say ‘It might be dangerous, so our team will go in!’ and instead wanted to ask for our opinions! Am I wrong?!”
Wow. Who knew Hyunwoo Lee could be so perceptive.
He might be completely clueless when it comes to romance,
But in combat-related matters, his intuition was sharper than anyone’s.
“I’m definitely going! If it’s a monster stronghold, we fight! If not, then not!”
“Um, Hyunwoo student. It might not be that simple. We might have to prepare for casualties on our side…”
“That won’t happen, Arbiter.”
Dasom Yoo stepped forward, the team’s healer.
She crossed her arms and looked at Seojin Baek as she continued.
“We won’t take casualties. Even if we do, I’ll heal everyone completely. So don’t worry about that. When we return, no one will be groaning in pain!”
“And we can prevent them from getting close enough to hurt us in the first place!”
Even Hana Kang joined in, encouraging him to make a decision as the team leader.
Seeing his team members’ support, Seojin Baek couldn’t help but smile.
Tap—
Then, Soohyun Kim gently touched Seojin Baek’s hand and said:
“We’ll do everything together. We’ll go anywhere together. At least I will, no matter what.”
Minseong Kang might feel a bit hurt if he heard that.
With that somewhat foolish thought, he looked at Jiyoon Han.
“No more, no less, our team will enter. Me, Soohyun, Hyunwoo, Dasom, Hana, and…”
“You’re not thinking of excluding me, are you?! I may not be active, but I’m still an honorary team member!”
Rina Lee shouted, positioning herself on the opposite side of Seojin Baek from Soohyun Kim.
Her intense determination not to let just the two of them go was palpable.
“You used to refuse to work no matter how much I asked…”
Jiyoon Han sighed, rubbing her forehead as if remembering the past.
Regardless, the personnel arrangement seemed to be finalized, which was fortunate.
Everyone’s resolve was firm, and they were all aces in their own right.
“Still, I’m a bit worried. We’re losing two S-rank forces and several A-ranks. If something happens, I’ll have to run around like crazy again, won’t I?”
“That’s exactly the plan, Jiyoon unnie! I’ll go enjoy myself while you work hard!”
“Hey, come here for a second. You really…!”
*
The team to prepare for contingencies in place of those entering the gate was organized.
All that remained was for the designated team to enter beyond the gate.
“What if it really is a monster lair on the other side, Arbiter?”
“What’s the big deal? We obviously crush them all. Our chick is saying strange things.”
“It would be fine if they’re low-ranked, but if they’re A-rank or above…”
“Then we all grit our teeth, fight, and retreat if necessary. The gate is still open, isn’t it?”
As Rina Lee said, the gate entrance was still intact.
The condition for closing was supposed to be the elimination of all monsters.
But since there wasn’t a single monster, that condition seemed irrelevant.
“The surroundings… hmm, it looks like we’re in some countryside.”
Hyunwoo Lee muttered as he looked around.
The others nodded in agreement.
These were landscapes they had never seen in dungeons before.
It was very quiet, peaceful, and they could even hear birds chirping.
Inside dungeons, no living creatures exist except monsters.
Considering that, this place clearly couldn’t be inside a dungeon.
“Wait.”
Seojin Baek, who was moving forward, signaled to stop.
As the team members quickly lowered their bodies, Soohyun Kim approached him.
“Monsters?”
“…No, it seems like what I suspected is happening.”
Where he pointed, there was a small village.
Yes, a village. A place where “people” lived.
‘Did it really act as a door connecting to another world? What kind of situation is this?’
What followed unfolded similarly to how things usually do.
They encountered the local people and tried to greet them, but communication was impossible.
They showed they had no hostility while looking for a solution.
Shortly after, a strangely dressed man and woman approached and used magical energy.
“Oh, Arbiter. I can suddenly understand what these people are saying?”
As they felt the flow of magical energy, Seojin Baek wondered if this was the translation magic he’d only heard about.
He greeted them again, and the response was—
“Are you perhaps from there?”
“…??”
The content was completely incomprehensible.
0 Comments